''Helping Grandma'' is a 1931 ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 103rd (15th talking episode) ''Our Gang'' short that was released.

Plot

An elderly woman named Mrs. Margaret Mack owns a small grocery store, and the gang helps her run it by waiting on customers, delivering groceries, and keeping her company. They call her Grandma, though she is not any one kid's grandmother. She loves the gang and the gang loves her. A chain store company wants to buy her store for more than market value, while a swindler also wants to buy it for next to nothing. The gang thinks both parties want to practically steal the store away from her. The swindler stops in and tries talking Grandma into selling her store immediately for $1,500. She balks at the low price, then goes downtown to run some errands, leaving the gang in charge. Among her instructions is to tell anyone who calls on the telephone to call back later. Chain store officials then stop by and Jackie, Farina and Chubby try deterring them from buying the store, telling them, among other things, "You couldn't sell many chains in this town anyhow," and, "Even the banks close on Saturday afternoon." The chain store officials are amused by the kids and leave some papers for Mrs. Mack to study. After they leave, the swindler returns, sees it's a $3,500 contract of sale, and swipes it. Meanwhile, Stymie is supposed to get ten cents worth of "it" but can't remember what "it" is. He has a note naming it, but neither he nor Wheezer can read the note, so Wheezer asks Stymie if he'd remember it if he saw it. Stymie says no but that he might remember it if he tasted it. So Wheezer and the other kids have Stymie sample a potato, Peet Bros soap, shoe polish, gasoline, moth balls, glue, Limburger cheese and finally fish-meal fertilizer, to which Stymie declares, "Yep, that's it." Dorothy is doling out candy to Wheezer when the phone rings. It's the chain store representatives, who want to increase their offer. Wheezer picks up the receiver but does not speak to the representatives because he is distracted by Dorothy. Thinking she's not giving him enough candy (and therefore not hearing their offer), Wheezer shouts at Dorothy, "T'aint enough!," then into the phone, "Call later!" The chain store reps think "T'aint enough" was meant for them so they decide they'll call back. This gag takes place repeatedly through the scene, with the chain store guys increasing their price to finally a "flat offer of $5,000.00." Grandma returns with the swindler, who is in a rush to have her sign away her store. After several interruptions by the children, she signs the paper. Assuming she has signed the store away, she informs the kids. The man then calls the kids hoodlums and tells them they must leave, to which Grandma objects. The chain store officials arrive and the swindler states that the store now belongs to him. He shows them the paper she signed but it is blank. The real contract of sale was not signed, so the swindler accuses Grandma of tricking him. The officials repeat their phone bid, saying they will give Grandma $1,500 more than the original price agreed upon. Grandma realizes that the swindler had imitated her over the phone, so she socks the guy so hard he falls across the room. When he threatens Grandma, Wheezer hits him on the head with a hammer.

Cast

The Gang

* Matthew Beard as Stymie ('Tumble-Weed' in script) *

Norman Chaney Norman Myers Chaney (October 18, 1914 – May 29, 1936) was an American child actor, notable for appearing in 19 ''Our Gang'' comedies as "Chubby" from 1929 to 1931. Early life and career Chaney was born on October 18, 1914 (though Richard ...

as Chubby *

Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...

as Jackie * Dorothy DeBorba as Dorothy *

Allen Hoskins Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Unive ...

as Farina *

Bobby Hutchins Robert E. Hutchins (March 29, 1925 – May 17, 1945) was an American child actor who was a regular in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1927 to 1933. A native of Tacoma, Washington, he was given the nickname of Wheezer after running aro ...

as Wheezer *

Mary Ann Jackson Mary Ann Jackson (January 14, 1923 – December 17, 2003) was an American child actress who appeared in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1928 to 1931. She was born and died in Los Angeles, California. Career Mary Ann Jackson's f ...

as Mary Ann *

Shirley Jean Rickert Shirley Jean Rickert (March 25, 1926 – February 6, 2009) was an American child actress who was briefly the "blonde girl" for the ''Our Gang'' series in 1931, during the Hal Roach early talkie period. Career At 18 months of age, Rickert ...

as Shirley *

Donald Haines Donald Haines (May 9, 1919 – February 20, 1943) was an American child actor who had recurring appearances in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1930 to 1933. He appeared in ''Our Gang'' during the early sound days along with Nor ...

as Donald *

Clifton Young Robert Howard Young (September 15, 1917 – September 10, 1951) professionally known as Clifton Young, was an American film actor. Early years Young was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward A. Young. His father started him in vaudeville when ...

as Robert 'Bonedust'

Additional cast

Oscar Apfel Oscar C. Apfel (January 17, 1878 – March 21, 1938) was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927. Biography Apf ...

as Mr. Pennypacker * William Gillespie as Billy, second chain store official *

Dell Henderson George Delbert "Dell" Henderson (July 5, 1877 – December 2, 1956) was a Canadian-American actor, director, and writer. He began his long and prolific film career in the early days of silent film. Biography Born in the Southwestern Ontario ...

as First chain store official *

Margaret Mann Margaret Mann (4 April 1868, in Aberdeen, Scotland – 4 February 1941, in Los Angeles, California), was a Scottish-American actress. Biography Margaret Mann starred in a number of major silent films such as ''Black Beauty'' in 1921 and playe ...

as Mrs. Margaret 'Grandma' Mack * Bobby Mallon as Undetermined role

Note

This episode was heavily edited on the Little Rascals television prints beginning in 1971. Scenes with Stymie tasting the store items were all cut out due to perceptions of racism toward African Americans. Most, but not all of the deleted scenes were reinstated on the TV prints shown on

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

from 2001–2003 and on MeTV in 2016.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0021951 1931 films 1931 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Robert F. McGowan Hal Roach Studios short films Our Gang films 1931 short films 1930s American films